George Russell claims Lewis Hamilton could have ‘damaged’ Max Verstappen’s career | F1 | Sport

George Russell has claimed that Max Verstappen’s career could have been damaged had he been directly pitted against Lewis Hamilton earlier in his career. The 25-year-old knows more than most what it is like to be directly compared to the seven-time world champion having driven alongside him at Mercedes and believes it could have caused problems for the Red Bull man earlier in his career.

Hamilton and Verstappen have been the men to beat in Formula 1 in recent years winning each of the last six seasons between them. The Dutchman has gained the upper hand in recent years after pipping the Brit to the championship in 2021 before defending his title last season. He is now expected to add a third crown in 2023 after Red Bull dominated the start of the current campaign.

Russell has suggested that things could have been very different had Verstappen joined the same team as Hamilton earlier in his career. The Brit believes the experience could have ‘damaged’ the reigning world champion potentially limiting his potential in the sport.

“If Max might have gone to a team like Mercedes and had to face a peaking Lewis Hamilton there, that could have damaged his career,” Russell explained during an interview with Square Mile. “So you have to look at it from two sides.

“Max was a much better driver after gaining three or four years of experience compared to when he had 18 months of experience. If you have to compete against someone who is at his very best and dominates in the car they are used to, then Max might not be in this position today.”

In the end, it was never a situation that Verstappen ever had to negotiate after becoming the face of Red Bull from a very early age. However, it could have been different after Mercedes chased his signature while he was competing in Formula 3.

Helmut Marko has previously explained just how close Verstappen came to making the move with Niki Lauda’s interest forcing Red Bull to offer him a contract quickly.

“He drove circles around the others,” Marko told Auto Motor und Sport last year while recalling one of the Dutchman’s particularly dominant junior races. “He was two seconds faster than the rest. Where the others had already braked, he shifted up. 

“We talked to the Verstappens. But then Gerhard Berger drew Lauda’s attention at Mercedes. Niki immediately jumped on the cart. We then made him an offer directly at the race weekend in Spielberg and told him that he had to make a decision quickly.” 

The rest, as they say, is history and Verstappen has gone out to become one of the most successful F1 drivers ever at the age of 25. However, it could have been very different had he ever become paired up with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.